Thursday, August 29, 2013
Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier is a large positive contributor to Darwin's theory of evolution. He contributed proof that living things change over time by showing that extinctions were real. Cuvier's research concluded that animal species would become extinct due to geological changes and thus thought it impossible for there to be the exact same species living in a different region. The evidence the fossils provided led Cuvier to believe that the earth encountered great catastrophes which would wipe out a number of species.
Cuvier's discovery supports Darwin's theory that all species are eventually replaced with new species that repopulate the earth. Cuvier's research ties into Darwin's idea that the earth has limited resources and that organisms with easy access to these resources will survive. Darwin's limited resource theory provides intellectual reasoning to Cuvier's discovery of extinction. Cuvier thought that geological changes were the reasons behind extinction and that because the species were extinct in a certain region, that it was impossible for the species to be roaming elsewhere; however, Darwin believed that when the environment changed, so did the traits of the organisms causing them to adjust and keep living.
Darwin would have developed his theory of natural selection without the ideas brought by Cuvier because Cuvier did not think Darwin's theory was possible. Darwin was forced to be cautious about how he approached the theory of evolution to the church because religious believers were defensive to the idea that God created the earth and all of its inhabitants. He was also cautious about when he published his book because of the negative reaction he would have encountered from the church.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_08
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"He contributed proof that living things change over time by showing that extinctions were real."
ReplyDeleteLet's be very careful about this. Is extinction evidence that organisms change? Are they the same thing? And what was Cuvier's opinion of evolution? Did he support evolution or deny it occurs? (I do see you mention this in the final paragraph but this should have been clarified in the first paragraph.) What was the name of Cuvier's key theory? How did he explain the rise of new organisms?
I understand your choice of "resources" for your bullet point, though again, I challenge the idea that Cuvier's works supported Darwin's as Cuvier was actually arguing against evolutionary theory. Another bullet point that relates here is the one regarding changing environments. Good follow up on Darwin's thinking regarding adaptation to a changing environment and how it contrasted with Cuvier's ideas.
I agree that Darwin could have developed his theory without Cuvier, though the ideas Cuvier espoused were beneficial if only because Darwin could find his theory in Cuvier's errors.
I agree that Darwin delayed because of his fears of a negative reaction, but can you be more explicit on the negative repercussions he feared for both himself and his family?